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Pate  Tendre  Vase  (11  inches  in  height). 
Relief  Flowers  and  Painted  Figure  Scenes. 
Vincennes,  France,  1753. 

In  The  Louvre,  Paris. 


ART  PRIMER 


CERAMIC  SERIES,  No.  11 


Pennsylvania  Museum  and  School  of  Industrial  Art 


ARTIFICIAL 

SOFT  PASTE  PORCELAIN 


France,  Italy,  Spain 

AND 

England 

BY 

EDWIN  ATLEE  BARBER,  A.M.,  Ph.D. 

Curator 


PRINTED  FOR  THE  MUSEUM 
PHILADELPHIA 
1907 


Copyright,  1907,  by 

The  Pennsylvania  Museum 
and 

School  of  Industrial  Art 


Philadelphia,  Pa. 


PREFATORY  NOTE. 


The  Art  Primers  of  the  Pennsylvania  Museum  and  School  of 
Industrial  Art  are  designed  to  furnish,  for  the  use  of  collectors, 
historical  and  art  students  and  artisans,  the  most  reliable  infor- 
mation, based  on  the  latest  discoveries  relating  to  the  various  in- 
dustrial arts.  Each  monograph,  complete  in  itself,  contains  a his- 
torical sketch,  review  of  processes,  description  of  characteristic 
examples  of  the  best  productions,  and  all  available  data  that  will 
help  to  facilitate  the  identification  of  specimens.  In  other  words, 
these  booklets  are  intended  to  serve  as  authoritative  and  perma- 
nent reference  works  on  the  various  subjects  treated.  The  illus- 
trations employed,  unless  otherwise  stated,  are  reproductions  of 
examples  in  the  Pennsylvania  Museum  collections. 

In  reviewing  the  various  branches  of  ceramics,  the  geographical 
arrangement  used  by  other  writers  has  given  place  to  the  natural 
or  technical  classification,  to  permit  the  grouping  together  of  simi- 
lar wares  of  all  countries  and  times,  whereby  pottery,  or  opaque 
ware,  is  classified  according  to  glaze , its  most  distinctive  feature, 
and  porcelain,  or  translucent  ware,  is  grouped  according  to  body , 
or  paste. 

Soft  porcelain  may  be  divided  into  two  groups  : 

a.  Artificial  soft  paste  (containing  various  compositions,  as  in 
the  fritted  porcelain  of  Sevres  and  the  other  early  French  manu- 
factories). 

b.  Natural  soft  paste  (containing  china  clays  as  a basis,  usually 
combined  with  calcined  bone,  as  in  English  porcelain). 

In  preparing  the  material  for  Artificial  Soft  Paste  Porcelain , the 
author  has  consulted  the  most  recent  and  reliable  authorities  on 
the  subject,  but  he  is  particularly  indebted,  for  many  of  the  facts 
presented,  to  A History  and  Description  of  French  Porcelain , by  E.  S. 
Auscher;  English  Porcelain, by  William  Burton;  Old  English  Por- 
celain, by  M.  L.  Solon ; Catalogue  of  the  Collection  of  Worcester  Por- 
celain in  the  Boyal  Porcelain  Works'  Museum , by  R.  W.  Binns,  F.  S.  A. ; 
The  Soft  Porcelain  of  Sevres,  With  an  Historical  Introduction,  by 
Edouard  Gamier  (London,  1892),  and  Histoire  des  Manufactures 
Frangaises  de  Porcelaine,  by  the  Count  de  Chavagnac  and  the  Mar- 
quis de  Grollier. 


4 


The  author  desires  to  record  his  sense  of  deep  obligation  to  M. 
Taxile  Doat,  the  eminent  ceramist  and  artist  of  Sevres,  for  valu- 
able information  relating  to  the  early  porcelain  of  Sevres.  Through 
his  kind  offices  the  illustrations  of  some  of  the  best  pieces  of  old 
Vincennes  and  Sevres  pate  tendre  in  the  French  museums  have 
been  procured  for  this  work.  E.  A.  B. 


ARTIFICIAL  SOFT  PASTE,  OR  FRIT  POR- 
CELAIN (PATE  TENDRE). 


Artificial  Soft  Paste,  or  Frit  Porcelain,  is  commonly  known  as 
French  porcelain  ( vorcelaine  Frangaise)  because  it  was  first  pro- 
duced in  France,  and  continued  to  be  manufactured  in  that  coun- 
try for  a longer  period  than  elsewhere.  Soft  porcelain  is  so  called, 
not  because  of  the  lack  of  hardness  of  the  paste,  although  it  fuses 
at  a much  lower  temperature  than  hard,  or  kaolinic  porcelain,  hut 
because  of  the  softness  of  the  glaze,  which  can  readily  be  scratched 
with  pointed  steel.  The  ware  is  the  result  of  the  efforts  of  Euro- 
pean potters,  in  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries,  to  re- 
produce the  highly  prized  hard  porcelain  of  China. 

Frit  porcelain  is  a glass-like  substance  forming  a connecting  link 
between  true  porcelain  and  glass.  This  artificial  body  is  an  alka- 
line paste,  in  which  the  ordinary  china  clays  do  not  enter.  It  is 
composed  of  siliceous  sand,  alum,  sea  salt,  soda,  nitre  and  gypsum, 
fritted  together,  to  which  is  added  a small  portion  of  calcareous 
marie,  and  is  covered  with  a rich  lead  glaze.  The  ware,  as  made 
at  different  factories,  may  vary  in  the  relative  proportions  of  the 
ingredients  used,  but  the  resultant  products  of  all  present  the 
same  marked  features. 

CHARACTERISTICS. 

Artificial  Soft  Paste  Porcelain  is  a thoroughly  vitrified  substance 
of  a creamy  or  ivory  white  tint  with  a waxy  surface.  When  held 
before  a strong  artificial  light,  it  almost  invariably  shows,  when 
not  too  thick,  pyrophanous  or  mechanical  defects,  in  the  form  of 
translucent  discs,  known  as  “ pin  points  ” or  “ grease  spots,”  caused 
by  vitreous  particles  in  the  paste  and  imperfect  blending  of  the  in- 
gredients. They  vary  in  size  from  that  of  a pin’s  point  to  the  di- 
ameter of  a small  pea.  The  colors  used  in  decoration  are  usually 
incorporated  with  the  glaze,  presenting  a soft  and  pleasing  effect. 
On  account  of  the  difficulties  encountered  in  firing  and  the  great 
expense  of  production,  very  large  pieces  were  not  produced  in  soft 
paste. 


6 


Artificial  Soft  Paste  Porcelain  may  be  divided  into  three  groups, 
as  follows : 

I.  Frit  Porcelain  of  France. 

II.  Frit  Porcelain  of  Other  Continental  Countries. 

III.  Frit  Porcelain  of  England. 

I.  FRIT  PORCELAIN  OF  FRANCE. 

ROUEN. 

Pate  tendre , or  soft  paste  porcelain,  was  first  produced  at  Rouen 
about  the  year  1673,  the  composition  having  been  discovered  by 
Louis  Poterat,  a potter  of  that  place.  The  decorations  in  blue  were 
in  the  style  of  those  used  on  the  stanniferous  (tin  enameled)  fai- 
ence of  that  period.  The  paste  is  of  a lighter  tint  than  that  of 
other  French  soft  paste,  excepting  that  of  Sevres,  and  is  consider- 
ably less  amber  colored  than  the  ware  of  St.  Cloud.  The  glaze  is 
less  vitreous  and  of  a pale  greenish  tint.  The  blue  color  of  the 
decorations  is  darker  and  grayer  and  more  intense  than  that  of  the 
other  old  French  factories.  The  paintings  have  evidently  been  ap- 
plied on  the  raw  glaze,  like  those  on  the  stanniferous  (tin  enameled) 
faience  of  Rouen.  Pieces  of  this  porcelain  are  rare,  the  most  char- 
acteristic forms  being  flower  pots,  cups  and  salt  cellars,  which  are 
mainly  decorated  in  blue  and  occasionally  in  other  colors.  A few 
pieces  are  known  with  blue,  red  and  green  decorations. 

ST.  CLOUD. 

Fritted  porcelain  was  first  attempted  here  about  1696  by  the 
Chicanneau  family,  and  the  manufacture  continued  until  about  the 
year  1773.  The  paste  is  yellowish,  with  a greenish  tinge,  or  of  a 
deep  ivory  tint  and  fine  and  regular  grain.  The  glaze  is  clear  and 
brilliant  and  seldom  blistered.  Sometimes  dry  patches  are  notice- 
able on  the  flat  parts,  and  the  glaze  often  shows  a tendency  to  run 
in  streaks.  On  the  bottoms  of  cups,  saucers  and  plates  it  often 
presents  the  appearance  of  sweating. 

The  decorations  are  usually  in  dark  blue,  under  the  glaze,  but 
occasionally  in  other  colors,  such  as  red,  yellow,  green,  purple  and 
dark  brown.  The  most  common  ornaments  are  sprays  of  flowers 
in  relief  and  paintings  in  imitation  of  old  Rouen  faience  or  Chi- 
nese porcelain. 

A marked  feature  of  St.  Cloud  porcelain  is  the  moulded  fluting 


1,2.  Frit  Paste  Saucer  and  Cups. 
Decorated  in  Dark  Blue. 

St.  Cloud,  France,  1722-1762. 
Museum  Nos.  "93-108,  ’04-51. 


3.  Frit  Paste  Cup  (4)/£  inches  in  height). 
Kakiyemon  Decoration  ; Tin  Glaze. 
Chantilly,  France,  about  1740. 
Museum  No.  ’05-431. 


4.  Frit  Paste  Plate  (9%  inches). 
Polychrome  Decoration  and  Gold. 
Chantilly,  France,  about  1760. 
Museum  No.  '06-2. 


7 


of  cups  and  jugs.  Most  characteristic  is  the  vertical  inner  rim  of 
saucers  ( trembleuse ) intended  to  hold  the  cup  in  place  and  to  pre- 
vent it  from  slipping.  The  paste  is  usually  quite  thick  and  the 
glaze  frequently  contains  numerous  black  specks. 

The  earliest  mark  on  St.  Cloud  porcelain  (1702-1715)  is  the  rep- 
resentation of  the  sun,  having  reference  to  Louis  XIV.  and  his 
motto,  Nec  pluribus  impar.  A later  mark  consists  of  the  letters 
“ S.  C.”  above  the  initial  “ T.”  (St.  Cloud,  Trou),  used  when  the  fac- 
tory was  under  the  management  of  Henry  Trou,  who  succeeded 
Chicanneau.  These  were  first  impressed  and  later  painted  in  blue. 
In  the  group  of  St.  Cloud  pieces  shown  here  (Nos.  1 and  2)  the  cup 
and  saucer  have  the  second  mark  in  blue,  beneath  which  is  an  ad- 
ditional letter,  P.  These  were  produced  between  1722  and  1762. 
The  odd  cup  at  the  right  bears  the  sun  mark,  in  blue. 

LILLE. 

The  soft  paste  porcelain  made  here  from  about  1711  was  a close 
imitation  of  that  of  St.  Cloud,  and  it  is  difficult,  with  our  present 
limited  knowledge  of  the  former,  to  distinguish  the  one  from  the 
other,  in  the  absence  of  marks.  The  paste  of  the  Lille  ware  is  sup- 
posed to  be  thicker  and  the  glaze  less  perfect.  The  mark  is  a 
monogram  composed  of  the  initials  of  Francois  Boussemaert,  a 
director  of  the  factory,  used  with  or  without  the  name  of  the  town. 
The  letter  D (for  Dorez,  the  founder  of  the  works)  and  the  initial 
of  the  town,  L,  are  marks  also  attributed  to  Lille. 

CHANTILLY. 

At  Chantilly  frit  porcelain  was  made  from  1725  to  1789,  the  fac- 
tory having  been  founded  in  the  first-named  year  by  Cirou.  At 
first  tin  was  used  to  render  the  glaze  white  and  opaque.  One  style 
of  decoration  extensively  used  here  was  that  known  as  the  Kakiye- 
mon,  so  called  after  the  famous  Japanese  potter  who  originated  a 
distinct  style  of  decoration  on  Imari  ware  in  the  province  of 
Hizen.  This  decoration  consists  of  sprays  of  flowers  and  small 
groups  of  birds  and  symbolical  motives  scattered  sparingly  over 
the  surface,  in  blue,  red,  yellow  and  brown.  Dinner  services,  tea 
sets  and  statuettes  were  ornamented  in  this  manner. 

At  a later  period  transparent  glaze  was  used  and  the  Chinese 
styles  were  extensively  imitated.  Still  more  recently  the  designs 
and  colors  of  Sevres  porcelain  were  copied.  This  paste  is  of  a 


8 


deep  ivory  tint,  like  that  of  Mennecy  and  St.  Cloud,  a favorite 
style  of  decoration  being  sprays  of  flowers  and  “ wheat  head  ” 
sprigs,  also  used  at  Arras,  in  dark  blue.  A plate  of  this  character, 
in  the  Museum  collection,  is  marked  with  the  letter  S,  in  blue. 

In  the  Museum  collection  is  a tali  cup-shaped  vase,  without  the 
cover,  painted  in  the  Kakiyemon  style  in  red,  yellow  and  blue, 
and  marked  with  a huntsman’s  horn  in  red  (No.  3).  The  glaze, 
which  contains  tin,  is  white  and  opaque.  A later  style  is  repre- 
sented in  the  collection  by  a plate  of  yellow  paste  and  transparent 
glaze,  with  medallions  containing  paintings  of  birds  in  poly- 
chrome on  blue  and  gold  checkered  ground.  The  central  design 
illustrates  one  of  La  Fontaine’s  fables,  the  Jay  dressed  in  the 
plumes  of  the  Peacock.  In  this  piece  the  “ grease  spots  ” are  dis- 
tinctly visible,  but  are  not  so  pronounced  or  numerous  as  in  the 
Mennecy  and  Tournay  paste.  It  bears  a similar  mark  in  blue 
(No.  4). 

MEN  NEC  Y- VILLERO  Y. 

Under  the  patronage  of  the  Duke  of  Villeroy,  a frit  porcelain 
factory  was  established  at  Mennecy  about  1735.  The  paste  is  of  an 
ivory  or  amber  color  with  a heavy  waxy  glaze,  quite  different  in 
appearance  from  the  wares  of  other  factories,  though  approaching 
in  tint  most  nearly  to  St.  Cloud  porcelain.  The  glaze,  particularly 
where  it  has  accumulated  in  crevices,  frequently  has  a distinct 
greenish  tint.  The  porcelain  of  China  was  at  one  period  exten- 
sively imitated  here,  while  the  Sevres  styles  were  also  copied  to  a 
considerable  extent.  Polychrome  decorations  were  employed,  but 
in  place  of  gilding,  blue,  yellow  and  rose  were  often  used  for  nar- 
row bands  and  outlines  of  decoration.  Among  the  articles  pro- 
duced were  vases,  flower  pots,  figures,  groups  and  various  pieces  of 
table  services.  In  the  Bloomfield  Moore  collection  of  the  Museum 
is  a group  of  silver-mounted  snuff-boxes  of  Mennecy  soft  paste. 
In  some  of  these  the  heavy  glaze  is  of  a pale,  but  pronounced 
green  color.  We  show  here  three  snuff-boxes  of  this  manufacture, 
representing  a girl,  a boy,  and  a dog  dressed  in  a blanket  (Nos.  5, 
6,  and  7).  Other  examples  in  the  collection  are  modeled  in  the 
forms  of  a dog,  mouse,  goat,  and  pair  of  fishes. 

Larger  pieces  were  decorated  with  sprays  of  flowers  and  Chinese 
figures,  in  enamel  colors.  A knife  handle  so  ornamented  is  ex- 
hibited in  the  Museum  collection.  The  factory  was  operated  by 
Jacques  and  Jullien  from  1766  until  1774,  when  it  was  closed. 


5,  6,  7.  Frit  Paste  Snuff  Boxes  (3  inches  in  length). 
Polychrome  Decorations. 

Mennecy,  France,  1735-1766. 

Bloomfield  Moore  Collection. 

Museum  Nos.  '99-979,  ’82-1063,  '99-1026. 


8.  Pate  Tendre  Compotier  (9%  inches). 
View  of  Chateau  of  Vincennes. 
Vincennes,  France,  about  1750. 

In  the  Sevres  Museum. 


/ 


9 


The  mark  most  frequently  used  at  Mennecy  is  composed  of  the 
letters  D.  V.  (De  Villeroy),  at  first  painted  in  color  and  later 
scratched  in  the  paste. 

Mennecy  porcelain  may  be  readily  distinguished  by  its  deep 
amber  color  and  its  luscious  glaze,  which  in  the  thicker  parts  is  of 
a pronounced  greenish  tint. 

VINCENNES. 

Pate  tendre  porcelain  was  first  produced  at  this  place  between  the 
years  1740  and  1745.  The  ware  is  characterized  by  a white  paste 
with  beautiful  clear  glaze  and  simple  decorations.  The  porcelain 
of  Vincennes  reached  the  highest  state  of  perfection  between  1753 
and  1756,  during  the  period  when  it  was  a Royal  manufactory.  In 
the  latter  year,  the  works  were  moved  to  Sevres.  Jean  Hellot,  Di- 
rector of  the  Academie  des  Sciences , was  selected  to  superintend  the 
preparation  of  the  paste,  the  colors  and  the  firing,  while  Duplessis, 
the  court  jeweler,  was  appointed  to  design  and  execute  the  forms, 
and  Bachelier  supervised  the  painting  and  gilding.  Among  the 
most  characteristic  things  produced  here  were  figure  groups,  small 
vases  with  relief  ornaments,  porcelain  flowers  and  bouquets,  col- 
ored closely  after  nature,  which  at  one  time  were  manufactured  in 
considerable  abundance. 

During  the  three  years  when  the  title  of  Manufacture  Royale  de 
la  Porcelaine  de  France  was  used,  the  ware  was  marked  with  the 
royal  cipher,  two  interlacing  L’s  (the  cipher  of  Louis  XV.),  com- 
bined with  a date  letter,  as  A,  for  1753 ; B,  for  1754 ; and  C,  for 
1755.  After  the  removal  of  the  factory  to  Sevres,  this  method  of 
dating  was  continued,  until  the  alphabet  was  exhausted,  when,  in 
1778,  the  letters  were  doubled,  and  so  continued  to  be  used  until 
the  year  1793,  indicated  by  PP.  These  letters  are  usually,  but  not 
invariably,  capitals,  and  are  either  within  the  monogram  or  placed 
one  at  each  side,  or  both  at  one  side. 

There  are  in  the  National  Museum  at  Washington  several  din- 
ner plates  and  dishes  of  Vincennes  soft  paste  which  at  one  time 
belonged  to  General  Washington.  They  bear  the  mark  of  two  in- 
terlacing L’s  in  blue,  and  possess  the  characteristic  hole  in  the 
sides  of  the  base  rims  (see  under  Sevres).  The  ware  is  rather 
thick,  but  of  a beautiful  ivory  white  tint.  Around  the  rims  is  a 
narrow,  scalloped  gold  edging,  sometimes  known  as  “ dontil  ” 
(French  dentelle , lace),  a lace-like  or  indented  border,  frequently 


10 


found  on  both  the  soft  and  hard  paste  porcelain  of  that  period, 
which  is  the  only  decoration. 

In  the  Mus6e  de  Sevres  is  a deep  dish,  or  compotier , of  Vincennes 
pate  tendre.  The  ground  is  creamy  white,  on  which  is  a central 
painting  representing  the  chateau  of  Vincennes.  The  mark,  two 
intertwining  L’s,  with  three  dots,  one  in  the  centre,  one  above  and 
one  beneath,  indicates  the  period  of  about  1750  (see  No.  8). 

A footed  vase  in  the  same  museum  is  a beautiful  and  most  char- 
acteristic example  of  Vincennes  pate  tendre.  The  ground  is  white, 
on  which  are  scattered  small  paintings  of  flowers  and  insects.  The 
handles  are  modeled  to  represent  twisted  twigs  or  branches,  which 
terminate  in  roses  and  carnations,  colored  after  nature.  This  piece 
belongs  to  the  same  period  as  the  preceding  (see  No.  9). 

The  Mus6e  du  Louvre  possesses  a vase  of  somewhat  similar 
style  but  more  elaborate  workmanship,  decorated  at  the  sides  with 
modeled  carnations  and  other  flowers  painted  in  natural  colors. 
On  each  face  is  a panel  enclosing  a figure  scene  depicting  dancers 
in  a park,  in  the  style  of  Watteau.  The  ground  is  a mottled  lapis- 
lazuli  blue  heightened  with  gold.  The  edge  of  the  mouth  is  em- 
bellished with  gadroons  in  white  and  gold  on  a blue  ground. 
While  the  central  paintings  are  not  signed,  the  remainder  of  the 
decoration  is  known  to  be  the  work  of  Taillandier.  In  the  Louvre 
catalogue  the  period  of  this  piece  is  given  as  about  1745,  but  M. 
Taxile  Doat,  the  eminent  ceramic  artist  of  Sevres,  fixes  the  exact 
date,  according  to  the  revised  chronological  table  of  the  Count  de 
Chavagnac,  as  1753  (see  Frontispiece).  The  mark  is  composed  of 
two  foliated,  intertwining  L’s  surmounted  by  a fleur-de-lys  in  blue 
under  the  glaze. 

SEVRES. 

The  manufacture  of  artificial  soft  paste  porcelain  was  transferred 
from  Vincennes  to  Sevres  in  1756,  where  it  continued  to  be  made 
until  about  1800.  In  1769  the  manufacture  of  hard  paste  porce- 
lain was  introduced  at  Sevres,  and  for  the  next  thirty  years  or  so 
both  hard  and  soft  paste  were  made  at  the  same  time. 

The  soft  paste  porcelain*  of  Sevres  is  whiter,  of  a finer  texture, 

* According  to  M.  Gamier,  the  soft  paste  of  Sevres  was  composed  of  Fontaine- 
bleau sand,  nitre,  sea-salt,  soda,  alum,  and  gypsum,  mixed  together  and  baked. 
This  frit  was  then  pulverized  and  combined  with  Argenteuil  clay  in  the  proportion 
of  three  parts  of  frit  to  one  part  of  clay.  The  glaze  consisted  of  Fontainebleau 
sand,  litharge,  silica  and  potash,  fritted  together,  then  reduced  to  powder  and 
mixed  with  water,  forming  a bath  which  was  poured  over  the  biscuit  ware,  which 
was  then  subjected  to  a second  firing. 


9 Pate  Tendre  Vase  (11  inches  in  height). 
Flowers  in  Relief. 

Vincennes,  France,  about  1750. 

In  the  Sevres  Museum. 


10,  11.  Pate  Tenure  Teapot,  Cup  and  Saucer  (Teapot  5 inches  in  height). 
Decorated  in  Colors  and  Gold. 

Sevres,  France,  1769. 

Museum  Nos.  '97-856,  855. 


12,  13,  14.  Pate  Tendre  Vases  and  Water  Jug. 
Sevres,  France,  Eighteenth  Century. 
Collection  of  the  Count  de  Chavagnac. 


11 


and  frequently  thinner  than  that  of  other  factories,  although  some 
of  the  earlier  pieces  are  heavy  and  thick.  In  pieces  belonging  to 
tea  sets  or  table  services,  there  are  often  dry  places  in  the  glaze 
where  it  does  not  entirely  cover  the  body,  often  presenting  the  ap- 
pearance of  sweating.  The  imperfection  of  the  glaze  may  occur 
on  the  sides,  but  it  is  particularly  noticeable  on  the  bases.  In  the 
best  pieces,  however,  these  defects  are  not  found.  The  phenome- 
non of  “ mooning,”  that  is,  the  presence  of  translucent  discs  in  the 
paste,  is  usually  quite  pronounced. 

On  account  of  a royal  edict,  at  one  period  (from  1766  to  1784) 
gold  was  not  permitted  to  be  used  on  any  French  porcelain  except- 
ing that  of  the  S&vres  factory.  On  the  products  of  other  estab- 
lishments, during  this  period,  no  gilding  is  found.  The  ware  made 
at  Sevres,  however,  is  almost  invariably  gilded,  and  the  finer  pieces 
are  elaborately  decorated  with  gold  bands,  traceries,  and  burnished 
patterns. 

Previous  to  1753,  before  the  removal  of  the  factory  to  Sevres, 
Hellot  introduced  the  beautiful  rose-Pompadour  color.  Edouard 
Gamier,  at  one  time  conservator  of  the  museum  at  Sevres,  states 
in  his  work  entitled  “ The  Soft  Porcelain  of  Stores”  (London,  1892), 
that  no  example  decorated  with  this  ground  color  is  known  bear- 
ing a date  later  than  1761.  More  recent  investigations  show  this 
statement  to  be  erroneous,  since  the  same  deep  rose  color  was  em- 
ployed throughout  both  the  Louis  XV.  and  Louis  XVI.  periods  on 
soft  paste,  and  to  some  extent,  after  1769,  on  hard  paste.  Previous 
to  1764,  the  date  of  the  Marquise  de  Pompadour’s  death,  this  color 
was  known  as  rose-Pompadour.  During  the  brief  reign  of  the 
Comtesse  du  Barry  at  the  court  of  Louis  XV.  (1768-1774),  the 
same  ground  color  received  the  appellation  of  rose  du  Barry,  and 
since  1774,  after  the  accession  of  Louis  XVI.,  it  has  been  called 
simply  fond  rose,  or  rose  ground.  Pieces  of  pate  tendre  decorated 
with  this  color  are  exceedingly  rare,  and  no  examples  are  to  be 
found  in  the  Louvre  or  the  Sevres  museum.  A superb,  covered 
vase  in  the  collection  of  Mile,  de  Grandjean,  of  Paris,  is  elaborately 
painted,  gilded,  and  perforated.  The  exquisite  color,  combining 
with  the  glaze  of  the  soft  paste,  presents  the  effect  of  great  depth 
and  richness.  On  hard  paste  the  rose  color  is  lacking  in  depth  and 
transparency  and  does  not  become  incorporated  with  the  glaze. 
We  know  of  no  genuine  examples  of  the  fond  rose  pate  tendre  por- 
celain of  Vincennes  or  Sevres  in  any  public  museum  in  this  coun- 


12 


try.  Hellot  also,  about  1752,  discovered  the  exquisite  “ bleu  tur- 
quoise.” The  famous  “ bleu  de  Sfores  ” of  this  period  has  never 
since  been  equaled  in  the  purity  and  depth  of  its  rich,  dark  tone. 
The  vases  decorated  with  these  ground  colors  are  the  highest 
achievements  of  this  factory.  In  1782  the  now  well-known  corn- 
flower decoration  ( decor  barbeau)  was  first  introduced  at  Sevres. 
This  pattern  consisted  of  small  blue  and  green  flowerets,  and  was 
afterwards  extensively  copied  on  both  hard  and  soft  paste  porce- 
lain at  many  other  potteries  in  France,  England,  and  the  United 
States. 

In  1778  or  1779  the  jeweled  porcelain  was  first  made,  in  which 
colored  raised  enamels,  applied  over  gold  leaf,  in  close  imitation 
of  rubies,  turquoise,  sapphires,  pearls,  and  other  gems,  were  used 
with  brilliant  effect.  Vases,  plates,  cups  and  saucers,  and  other 
pieces  thus  decorated,  presented  the  appearance  of  being  inlaid 
with  precious  stones,  en  cabochon  (uncut),  set  in  gold  on  richly  col- 
ored grounds.  The  principal  enameler  was  Cotteau.  Jeweled  pate 
tendre  porcelain  is  now  exceedingly  rare.  There  are  but  three  pieces 
in  the  Sevres  Museum,  and  only  a cup  and  saucer  in  the  Louvre, 
from  which,  as  in  all  genuine  old  pieces,  many  of  the  pearls  are 
missing.  This  disappearance  of  the  jewels  has  been  caused  by 
the  practise  of  applying  the  enamel  over  paillons  of  gold  to  give  it 
greater  brilliancy,  so  that  the  imitation  gems  were  easily  detached. 
The  forgeries  of  jeweled  ware,  not  being  enameled  over  gold  foil, 
usually  retain  the  enamels,  which  adhere  perfectly  to  the  body, 
although  in  occasional  instances  they  may  be  lacking. 

On  many  pieces  of  Sevres  pate  tendre  will  be  found  a small  hole 
which  has  been  drilled  in  one  side  of  the  foot  rims  of  cups,  saucers, 
and  plates,  by  which  they  were  hung  up  in  the  muffle  kiln  while 
being  fired.  This  practise  seems  to  have  been  almost  entirely  con- 
fined to  Vincennes  and  Sevres.  Of  many  examples  of  Sevres  table 
ware  in  the  Museum  collection,  only  one  cup  and  saucer  are  with- 
out this  characteristic  mark  (see  No.  17). 

When  Brongniart  assumed  the  management  of  the  Sevres  fac- 
tory, in  1800,  a large  stock  of  soft  porcelain  still  remained  on  hand, 
and,  in  order  to  raise  funds  to  pay  the  workmen,  whose  wages 
were  far  in  arrears,  and  to  meet  the  running  expenses  of  the  fac- 
tory, he  disposed  of  this  ware  at  low  prices.  Falling  into  the  hands 
of  unscrupulous  dealers,  it  was  decorated  and  falsely  marked  and 
dispersed  among  museums  and  collections  as  veritable  Sevres  por- 


15.  Pate  Tendre  Plate  (9%  inches) . 
By  Sophie  Chanou,  in  Blue  and  Gold. 
Sevres,  France,  about  1780. 
Bloomfield  Moore  Collection. 
Museum  No.  ’82-1636. 


16.  Pate  Tendre  Plate  (9%  inches). 
Decorated  in  Polychrome. 
Sevres,  France,  about  1780. 
Bloomfield  Moore  Collection. 
Museum  No.  ’82-1404. 


17.  Pate  Tendre  Cup  and  Saucer. 
Showing  the  Holes  for  Suspension  in  the  Kiln. 
Sevres,  France,  1774. 

Bloomfield  Moore  Collection. 

Museum  No.  ’82-1870. 


13 


celain.  This  semi-fraudulent  ware,  however,  may  be  distinguished 
by  two  infallible  tests : First,  by  the  presence  of  chrome  green  in 
the  decorations,  which  color  was  not  discovered  until  a later  date 
(1804).  It  is  of  a yellowish  tone,  very  different  from  the  darker 
copper  green  previously  used.  Secondly,  the  gilding  of  the  old 
soft  paste  is  dull,  having  been  burnished  “ au  clou  ” (with  an  iron 
nail),  instead  of  with  the  agate  burnisher,  which  has  been  used 
since  about  1800.  The  gilding  of  the  soft  paste  is  distinctly 
scratched,  the  lines  being  sharp  and  well  defined. 

The  soft  paste  porcelain  of  Sevres  has  been  extensively  counter- 
feited in  hard  paste,  clumsy  imitations  of  the  rose-Pompadour  and 
turquoise  blue  ground  colors  being  the  most  numerous.  A favorite 
style  of  the  counterfeiters  is  the  painting  of  cupids  and  garlands 
of  flowers  in  rich  colors  in  conjunction  with  gold  traceries  on  solid 
blue  ground,  with  the  gold  monogram  of  Louis  Philippe.  These 
reproductions,  however,  are  such  glaring  frauds  that  they  should 
deceive  no  one,  since  the  texture  of  the  overglaze  colors  is  so  coarse, 
opaque,  and  rough  that  it  bears  little  resemblance  to  the  smooth, 
translucent,  liquid  quality  of  the  delicate  soft  paste  inglaze  colors. 
In  nearly  every  American  art  museum  will  be  found  modern  re- 
productions of  soft  or  hard  paste  porcelain  of  Vincennes  or 
Sevres  ; some  of  them,  however,  are  so  beautifully  executed  as  to 
readily  deceive  every  one  but  the  trained  expert.  Some  of  the  best 
of  the  pate  tendre  imitations  were  produced  by  Bettignies  (see  illus- 
tration No.  24). 

The  manufacture  of  soft  paste  porcelain  was  revived  under  Na- 
poleon III.  from  1852  to  1870.  The  marks  used  during  this  period 
were  the  Imperial  Eagle  framed  by  the  letter  S,  on  the  left,  and  the 
last  two  figures  of  the  year  on  the  right,  above  the  letter  T (1852- 
1854),  and  the  initial  N with  S.  54,  above  the  letter  T (1854-1870), 
in  red  over  the  glaze.  From  1887  to  1900  soft  paste  was  again 
produced  at  Sevres,  but  this  product  is  more  glossy  and  glistening 
than  the  old  pate  tendre  (previous  to  1800),  to  which  the  term 
Vieux  Sevres  was  applied. 

The  Museum  possesses  numerous  good  examples  of  old  Sevres 
soft  paste,  among  which  are  mug-shaped  cups  with  deep  saucers 
embellished  with  sprays  and  bouquets  of  flowers  in  natural  colors 
(Nos.  10  and  17).  A pair  of  plates  painted  by  Sophie  Chanou,  in 
blue  and  gold,  and  a plate  with  floral  sprigs  in  colors,  are  excellent 
examples  of  table  ware  (Nos.  15  and  16).  A tea  pot  bearing  the 
date  mark  for  the  year  1769  is  also  here  shown  (No.  11). 


14 


A statuette  of  pate  tendre  porcelain,  in  the  Sevres  Museum,  rep- 
resents “ The  Escaped  Bird.”  This  fine  example  is  painted  in  poly- 
chrome and  bears  the  date  mark  for  the  year  1770,  in  pale  blue  (see 
No.  18).  Soft  paste  figures  and  groups  ceased  to  be  made  at  Sevres 
about  1777. 

In  the  collection  of  the  Louvre  may  he  seen  a cheese  dish  belong- 
ing to  the  famous  table  service  of  Madam  du  Barry.  Around  the 
upper  part  are  festoons  and  vases  of  flowers  painted  on  a blue 
ground,  beneath  which  is  the  du  Barry  monogram,  the  D being 
traced  in  gold  and  the  B painted  in  minute  flowerets.  It  bears 
the  date  mark  of  1771  and  the  cipher  of  the  decorator,  Catrice 
(see  No.  19).  Other  pieces  of  the  same  service  are  in  the  Sevres 
Museum. 

Among  the  treasures  of  the  Mus6e  de  Sevres  is  a beautiful  tureen, 
or  soupiere , of  pate  tendre  porcelain,  with  broad  borders  of  gold  or- 
naments on  a white  ground,  and  garlands  painted  in  colors  in  scroll- 
like reserves.  The  cover  is  surmounted  by  a modeled  artichoke. 
This  piece  bears  the  date  1773,  and  is  the  combined  work  of  several 
artists,  the  painting  being  by  Barre,  the  gold  ornaments  by  Bau- 
douin,  and  the  garlands  by  Le  Bel,  jeune  (see  No.  20). 

Theoretically,  the  exact  date  of  Sevres  porcelain  can  be  deter- 
mined by  the  letters  which  were  used  in  conjunction  with  the  mark 
of  the  interlacing  L’s.  All  pieces  marked  with  this  cipher,  without 
an  accompanying  date  letter,  are  supposed  to  have  been  produced 
at  Vincennes  previous  to  1753.  This  system  of  dating,  however, 
cannot  always  be  relied  upon,  as  we  find  the  intertwining  L mark 
without  any  date  letters  on  many  pieces  which  belong  to  a period 
later  than  1753.  The  decorators  were  not  always  careful  to  add 
the  letter  of  the  year  to  the  mark,  in  consequence  of  which  numer- 
ous pieces  are  attributed  to  Vincennes  which  were  really  produced 
at  Sevres  some  years  later  than  the  mark  would  indicate.  Such 
pieces  can  only  be  correctly  attributed  by  an  intelligent  interpre- 
tation of  the  peculiarities  of  paste,  decoration,  and  mechanical 
treatment.  The  date  letters,  however,  when  they  appear  on  genuine 
pieces,  may,  as  a rule,  be  ^considered  trustworthy  (see  chapter  on 
Marks). 

The  Sevres  marks  were  usually  accompanied  by  the  private  de- 
vices or  emblems  of  the  decorators.  These  additional  initials  or 
characters  are  frequently  a sure  guide  to  the  detection  of  counter- 
feits, as  the  forgers  of  early  Sevres  porcelain  did  not  acquaint  them- 


18.  Pate  Tendre  Statuette  (8%  inches  in  height). 
“ The  Escaped  Bird.” 

Sevres,  France,  1770. 

In  the  Sevres  Museum. 


19.  Pate  Tendre  Cheese  Dish  (12  inches  in  length). 
From  the  Service  of  Madam  du  Barry. 

Sevres,  France,  1771. 

In  the  Louvre,  Paris. 


15 


selves  with  the  significance  of  these  marks.  For  instance,  a piece 
of  soft  paste  porcelain,  supposed  to  be  of  Sevres  manufacture,  with 
a pastoral  scene  beautifully  painted,  and  enameled  jewel  work, 
bears  the  date  letter  of  the  year  1758,  beneath  which  are  two  musi- 
cal notes,  the  private  mark  of  Chulot.  When  it  is  known  that  this 
artist  painted  only  groups  of  flowers,  etc.,  his  mark,  appearing  in 
conjunction  with  a figure  group,  is  shown  to  be  a forgery.  More- 
over, since  the  jeweled  decoration  was  not  invented  at  Sevres  until 
about  1779,  the  mark  of  1758  is  manifestly  fraudulent  (see  No.  25). 
It  is  not  deemed  advisable  to  reproduce  here  the  numerous  private 
marks  of  painters,  which  will  be  found  in  the  works  mentioned  in 
the  Prefatory  Note. 

The  distinguishing  characteristics  of  Sevres  pate  tendre  porcelain 
are  the  white  or  pale  ivory  tint  of  the  paste,  its  excellent  potting, 
its  careful  modeling  and  beautiful  painting,  the  use  of  gold  in  the 
decorations,  the  frequent  presence  of  sweating,  or  dry  spots  in  the 
glaze,  the  richness  of  its  ground  colors,  particularly  the  “ bleu  de 
roi turquoise  blue,  and  rose-Pompadour,  the  drilled  holes  in  the 
base  of  the  plates,  cups,  and  saucers,  for  suspension  in  the  kiln, 
the  absence  of  chrome  green  in  the  decorations,  and  the  burnish- 
ing of  the  gilding  “ au  clou”  The  jeweled  porcelain  of  about  1780 
may  be  recognized  by  its  brilliancy  and  the  invariable  absence  of 
some  of  its  enamels. 

The  modern  reproductions  of  the  old  soft  porcelain  are  distin- 
guished by  a whiter  and  more  glittering  and  harder-looking  paste. 
To  detect  forgeries  of  Vincennes  and  Sevres  porcelain  (and  fully 
nine-tenths  of  the  pieces  offered  for  sale  will  be  found  to  be  spu- 
rious), the  collector  should  carefully  examine  the  paste,  the  glaze, 
the  style  of  decoration,  the  gilding,  and  the  marks.  If  he  is  not 
familiar  with  every  feature  and  peculiarity  of  the  ware,  and  the 
tricks  resorted  to  by  the  counterfeiter,  he  will  stand  little  chance 
of  securing  genuine  pieces,  for  no  porcelain  has  ever  been  copied 
so  extensively  as  that  of  the  Vincennes  and  Sevres  factories. 

TOURNAY. 

The  manufacture  of  soft  paste  porcelain  was  commenced  here 
about  1750,  and  was  continued  until  recent  years.  The  paste  is 
not  so  white  as  that  of  Sevres,  but  lighter  than  the  products  of 
Chantilly,  Mennecy  and  St.  Cloud.  The  best  work  produced  here 
was  frequently  decorated  in  the  Sevres  styles,  frequently  with 


16 


paintings  of  exotic  birds  in  enamel  colors  and  Sevres  blue  borders. 
On  these  will  generally  be  found  a tiny  gold  mark  representing  a 
potter’s  kiln.  The  commoner  variety  was  thick  and  heavy  in  body, 
and  consequently  almost  opaque.  It  is  generally  found  in  table 
pieces,  such  as  plates,  cups,  saucers,  etc.,  and  is  usually  decorated 
with  sprays  and  garlands  in  blue.  The  mark  most  commonly  used 
consists  of  two  crossed  swords  and  four  small  crosses,  penciled  on 
the  finer  pieces  either  in  gold  or  overglaze  colors.  A plate  in  the 
Museum  collection,  with  blue  decorations,  bears  this  mark  in  blue 
beneath  the  glaze  (see  No.  21). 

Tournay  porcelain  was  made  by  fritting  together  sand  and  car- 
bonate of  soda,  to  which  was  added  clay  marl  and  chalk,  resulting 
in  a body  apparently  more  porous  than  that  of  Mennecy,  Chan- 
tilly, or  Sevres.  Some  of  the  best  pieces  were  finely  executed, 
among  the  decorative  colors  being  an  iron  red  and  a purplish  rose. 

Later,  the  Tournay  porcelain  showed  the  influence  of  Sevres, 
both  in  forms  and  decorations,  in  its  ground  colors  and  gilding. 

In  the  Museum  collection  maj^  be  seen  a plate  of  this  character 
bearing  a central  design  of  birds  in  enamel  colors  and  a border  of 
Sevres  blue  which  has  been  painted  on  the  biscuit  in  rough  uneven 
strokes  of  the  brush,  presenting  a beautiful  combination  of  shades 
of  this  color  (No.  22). 

Tournay  paste  when  held  up  to  a strong  light  has  a distinctly 
greenish  tint.  The  best  ware  is  slightly  lighter  in  color  than  the 
common  variety.  In  this  paste  the  “grease  spots”  are  abun- 
dant. 

ORLEANS. 

From  1753  until  1770  soft  paste  porcelain  was  produced  at 
Orleans.  Its  characteristics  are  a vitreous  and  translucent  body 
and  brilliant  glaze.  Table  services  were  made  to  some  extent  and 
a limited  number  of  statuettes. 

SCEAUX. 

The  first  attempt  to  produce  soft  paste  porcelain  here  was  made 
about  1763,  by  Jacques  and  Jullien,  but  it  was  not  until  1775  that 
it  began  to  be  manufactured,  under  the  patronage  of  the  Duke  of 
Penthievre,  to  any  extent.  In  1784,  after  the  removal  of  the  royal 
edict,  colors  and  gilding  were  freely  employed,  the  decorations 
being  in  the  style  of  the  Mennecy  porcelain,  and  often  of  a supe- 
rior quality.  The  mark,  which  is  found  on  a small  proportion  of 
the  Sceaux  pieces  consists  of  the  letters  S.X.,  scratched  in  the  paste. 


20.  Pate  Tenure  Tureen  (13  inches  in  length). 
Plateau  (18  inches  in  length). 

Sevres,  France,  1773. 

In  the  Sevres  Museum. 


21.  Frit  Paste  Plate  (9  inches). 
Decoration  in  Blue. 
Tournay,  France,  about  1760. 
Museum  No.  ’04-47. 


22.  Frit  Paste  Plate  (90*,  inches). 
Enamel  Colors,  Blue  and  Gold  Border. 
Tournay,  France,  about  1755. 


23,  24.  Frit  Paste  Plate,  Cup  and  Saucer. 
Decorations  in  BTue. 

Arras,  France,  1782-1786. 

Museum  Nos.  ’04-49,  570. 


17 


BOURG-LA-REINE. 

Jacques  and  Jullien  established  a soft  paste  manufactory  at 
Bourg-la-Reine,  near  Sceaux,  about  1774,  after  they  gave  up  the 
factory  at  Mennecy.  The  ware  strongly  resembles  that  of  the  latter 
place.  On  almost  every  piece  will  be  found  lines  of  rose  color 
painted  around  the  edges.  The  manufacture  was  continued  until 
about  1789.  The  mark  consists  of  the  letters  B.R.,  incised  in  the 
paste. 

ARRAS. 

In  1782  'pate  tendre  porcelain  was  being  produced  here.  In  color 
it  is  less  yellow  than  the  ware  of  St.  Cloud,  but  of  a deeper  tint 
than  that  of  Tournay.  While  the  manufacture  is  said  to  have  con- 
tinued for  only  five  or  six  years,  a considerable  quantity  of  ware 
must  have  been  produced,  as  many  pieces  appear  in  public  collec- 
tions. A plate  in  the  Alfred  Duane  Pell  collection  of  this  Museum 
is  marked  “ A.  R.”  in  underglaze  blue  (No.  23).  Arras  soft  paste 
porcelain  usually  contains  more  of  the  translucent  a grease  spots  ” 
than  that  of  other  factories.  In  the  examples  we  have  examined 
they  appear  numerously  throughout  the  paste,  varying  from  the 
size  of  a pin  hole  to  the  diameter  of  an  ordinary  lead  pencil.  In 
the  illustration  (No.  24)  of  a cup  and  saucer  of  Arras  manufacture 
the  “ pin  holes,”  or  “ grease  spots,”  are  distinctly  shown.  The 
most  prominent  manufacturers  of  this  place  were  two  women 
named  Deleneur. 

SAINT- AMAND-LES-EAUX. 

One  Bettignies  manufactured  frit  paste  porcelain  at  Saint- Amand- 
les-Eaux  early  in  the  nineteenth  century,  commencing  about  1815, 
where  the  best  reproductions  of  old  Sevres  pate  tendre  were  pro- 
duced, even  some  of  the  finest  vases  being  closely  copied.  Pieces 
emanating  from  this  factory  are  such  exact  imitations  of  the  origi- 
nal ware  that  they  can  only  be  distinguished  by  the  shapes,  or  cer- 
tain peculiarities  of  the  decoration.  We  have  seen  very  clever 
counterfeits  of  the  jeweled  porcelain  produced  at  Sevres  about 
1780.  The  marks  of  the  Sevres  factory  are  forged,  and  even  the 
drilled  hole  for  suspension  in  the  kiln  has  been  carefully  imitated. 
The  paste  is  apparently  identical  with  the  old  Sevres  paste  of  the 
period.  The  simulation  of  rubies,  turquoise,  and  pearls,  around 
the  marly,  is  particularly  effective,  and  the  painted  figure  scenes 
are  fully  equal  in  artistic  merit  to  the  best  work  of  the  Sevres  art- 


18 


ists.  A plate  of  this  character  (see  No.  25),  to  which  reference  has 
already  been  made  (see  p.  15),  bears  the  Sevres  chronogram  for 
the  year  1758,  an  unfortunate  anachronism  of  the  manufacturer, 
since  jeweled  porcelain  was  not  invented  at  Sevres  until  twenty 
years  later.  This  plate  is  reproduced  here  for  the  reason  that  it 
will  convey  a better  idea  of  the  exquisite  jeweled  work  produced 
at  Sevres  than  any  genuine  piece  in  public  museums  of  which  the 
writer  has  any  knowledge,  with  the  exception  of  a cup  and  saucer 
dated  1781,  in  the  Louvre,  which  is  thickly  studded  with  raised 
enamels  closely  imitating  rubies,  emeralds,  and  white  pearls,  on 
dark  blue  ground,  the  jewels  being  so  admirably  managed  as  to 
present  the  appearance  of  being  mounted  in  delicately  wrought 
gold  settings. 

PARIS. 

We  have  already  stated  that  an  attempt  was  lately  made  at 
Sevres  to  revive  the  manufacture  of  pate  tendre  porcelain,  but  the 
experiments  proved  unsatisfactory.  Camille  Naudot,  Fils  et  Cie, 
of  Paris,  have  succeeded  in  producing  a soft  paste  porcelain  in  re- 
cent years.  Their  exhibit  at  the  Paris  Exposition  of  1900  attracted 
much  attention  by  the  originality  of  the  work.  The  decoration 
consists  of  floral,  rice  grain,  and  geometrical  designs,  cut  through 
the  thin  paste  and  filled  in  with  tinted  glazes,  in  the  style  of  the 
Persian  pottery  of  the  eighteenth  century,  a method  of  ornamenta- 
tion which  had  been  attempted  by  the  Worcester  factory  as  early 
as  1873,  and  by  the  Havilands  of  Limoges  a few  years  later.  An 
exquisite  little  bowl,  five  inches  in  diameter,  in  the  Museum  col- 
lection, is  jeweled  with  a perforated  floral  pattern  in  which  the 
leaves  are  filled  in  with  a pale,  transparent  green,  and  the  flowers 
with  golden  amber  glaze  (No.  26).  The  stems  are  represented  by 
penciled  gold  lines.  The  paste  is  of  glistening  and  dazzling  white- 
ness, and  admirably  suited  to  this  style  of  embellishment,  but  it 
bears  little  resemblance  to  the  soft,  mellow,  waxy  porcelain  of  the 
Louis  XV.  and  Louis  XVI.  periods,  and  is  lacking  in  the  “ grease 
spots  ” so  characteristic  of  the  early  French  fritted  paste. 


.1.11 
s % 


Frit  Paste  Cups  and  Saucers.  • 
Blue  and  Gold  Decorations. 

27.  Doccia,  Italy.  28.  Venice,  Italy. 
Museum  Nos.  ’04-224,  71. 


2i).  Frit  Paste  Tureen  (10  inches  in  height). 
Decorated  in  Colors  and  Gold. 
Buen  Retiro,  Spain,  about  1765. 
Trumbull-Prime  Collection.  Princeton,  N.  J. 


19 


II.  FRIT  PORCELAIN  OF  OTHER  CONTINENTAL 

COUNTRIES . 

ITALY. 

The  production  of  artificial  porcelain  of  a hybrid  nature  was 
attempted  in  Italy  as  early  as  the  sixteenth  century.  As  no  speci- 
mens of  these  products  have  been  identified,  however,  it  is  not  pos- 
sible to  describe  the  ware,  but  it  is  believed  that  it  partook  more 
of  the  character  of  glass  than  of  porcelain.  At  a later  period  the 
soft  paste  porcelain  of  the  early  French  factories  was  imitated  at 
several  places  in  Italy,  although,  in  some  instances,  the  manufac- 
ture was  probably  the  result  of  independent  discovery. 

VENICE. 

Experiments  were  made  here  in  the  manufacture  of  soft  paste 
at  a remote  period,  some  writers  fixing  the  date  as  early  as  1519. 
About  1720,  a true  frit  body  was  being  produced.  Previous  to  1735, 
the  Vezzi  brothers  established  a factory  at  Venice  and  revived  the 
manufacture  of  soft  paste  porcelain.  In  1765,  Geminiano  Cozzi 
founded  another  factory,  which  was  operated  more  or  less  success- 
fully until  1812.  The  ware  of  this  period  was  of  soft  paste,  some- 
what resembling  in  appearance  the  early  frit  porcelain  of  Wor- 
cester, rather  thin  in  substance,  and  of  a glassy  nature.  The  prin- 
cipal mark  was  an  anchor  in  red,  blue,  or  gold.  A mug-shaped 
cup  and  saucer  in  the  Museum  collection,  of  a pronounced  grayish 
white  paste  and  glassy  glaze,  decorated  in  dull,  dark  blue  and  in- 
ferior gilding,  bears  this  mark  in  rose  color,  beneath  the  glaze 
(No.  28).  In  the  Boston  Museum  of  Fine  Arts  are  numerous 
pieces  of  this  fabric  decorated  in  polychrome,  and  bearing  the 
anchor  mark  in  red. 

DOCCIA. 

The  Marquis  Ginori  established  a porcelain  factory  at  this  place 
about  1737  for  the  production  of  soft  paste  porcelain,  and  at  a later 
period  hard  paste  ware  was  made.  In  1821,  at  the  closing  of  the 
Capo-di-Monte  works,  the  moulds  of  the  latter  were  transferred  to 
Doccia,  and  from  that  time  to  the  present,  the  Capo-di-Monte  pat- 
terns have  been  cleverly  imitated  in  hard  paste,  even  to  the  marks. 
Here,  also,  the  early  Italian  maiolicas  have  been  extensively  copied. 


20 


The  principal  mark  of  the  earlier  Doccia  soft  paste  is  a six-rayed 
star,  painted  in  red,  blue,  or  gold.  A cup  and  saucer  in  the  col- 
lection of  the  Museum,  of  grayish-white  paste,  is  embellished  with 
gold  sprigs  and  blue  enameled  borders.  The  mark  is  a six-pointed 
star  in  blue,  beneath  the  glaze  (No.  27). 

CAPO-DI-MONTE. 

At  Capo-di-Monte,  near  Naples,  porcelain  works  were  established 
by  Charles  III.  of  Spain,  about  1743.  The  early  ware  was  soft 
paste  of  fine  quality,  the  most  characteristic  variety  being  deco- 
rated with  relief  designs  representing  sea  shells,  marine  and  myth- 
ological subjects,  richly  colored,  the  flesh  tints  being  stippled  in 
the  style  of  miniature  painting.  The  principal  mark  was  a crowned 
N.,in  blue,  and  some  writers  attribute  the  fleur-de-lys  mark  to  this 
factory,  which  was  afterwards  used  at  Buen  Retiro. 

Vast  quantities  of  hard  paste  porcelain,  in  close  imitation  of 
Capo-di-Monte  soft  paste,  are  made  at  Doccia,  Meissen,  and  Herend 
in  Hungary,  but  the  most  dangerous  counterfeits  are  produced  in 
Paris.  Genuine  examples  are  now  seldom  offered  for  sale. 

LE  NOVE. 

Pasquale  Antonibon  founded  a factory  at  Le  Nove,  near  Bassano, 
about  1752,  for  the  production  of  maiolica  and  terra  cotta,  and  the 
manufacture  of  hard  paste  and  artificial  soft  paste  porcelain  con- 
tinued from  about  1762  to  near  the  close  of  the  century.  Some 
beautiful  pate  tendre  vases  and  jardinieres,  bearing  the  Nove  mark, 
still  survive.  The  principal  mark  is  a six-pointed  star,  in  red  or 
gold,  occasionally  having  an  undulating  tail. 

SPAIN. 

BUEN  RETIRO. 

Charles  III.,  on  his  accession  to  the  throne  of  Spain  in  1759, 
took  with  him  to  Buen  Retiro,  near  Madrid,  a colony  of  potters 
from  Capo-di-Monte,  and  founded  a porcelain  factory  there.  The 
ware  was  principally  in  the  Capo-di-Monte  style,  although  the  jas- 
per ware  of  Wedgwood  was  also  imitated.  Later,  hard  paste  por- 
celain was  made  there,  and  the  manufacture  continued  into  the 
nineteenth  century.  A cup  and  saucer  in  the  Museum  collection 
are  thin  and  well  potted.  They  are  painted  with  figure  scenes  in 


21 


delicate  colors,  and  gold  borders.  The  paste  is  mellow  and  waxy, 
like  the  early  ware  of  Chelsea. 

In  the  Trumbull-Prime  collection  of  Princeton  University  is  a 
fine  tureen  of  soft  paste  painted  in  colors  (see  No.  29),  and  marked 
with  a fleur-de-lys  in  blue. 

III.  FRIT  PORCELAIN  OF  ENGLAND. 

BOW. 

A porcelain  factory  was  established  at  Stratford-le-Bow  previous 
to  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  some  authors  claiming 
that  it  dates  back  as  far  as  1730.  A patent  was  granted  to  Edward 
Heylin  and  Thomas  Frye  in  the  year  1745,  for  the  manufacture  of 
porcelain  from  a variety  of  clay  called  unaker,  procured  from 
America.  From  this  patent  we  quote  the  following,  as  given  by 
Mr.  Llewellynn  Jewitt  in  his  Ceramic  Art  in  Great  Britain: 

u The  material  is  an  earth,  the  produce  of  the  Chirokee  nation 
in  America,  called  by  the  natives  ‘ unaker,1  the  propertys  of  which 
are  as  follows,  videlicet,  to  be  very  fixed,  strongly  resisting  fire  and 
menstrua,  is  extremely  white,  tenacious,  and  glittering  with  mica. 
The  manner  of  manufacturing  the  said  material  is  as  follows : — 
Take  unaker,  and  by  washing  seperate  the  sand  and  mica  from  it, 
which  is  of  no  use;  take  pott  ash,  fern  ash,  pearl  ash,  kelp,  or  any 
other  vegetable  lixiviall  salt,  one  part  of  sands,  flints,  pebbles,  or 
any  other  stones  of  the  vitryfying  kind ; one  other  part  of  these 
two  principles  form  a glass  in  the  usual  manner  of  making  glass, 
which  when  formed  reduce  to  an  impalpable  powder.  Then  mix 
to  one  part  of  this  powder  two  parts  of  the  washed  unaker,  let 
them  be  well  worked  together  until  intimately  mixed  for  one  sort 
of  ware ; but  you  may  vary  the  proportions  of  the  unaker  and  the 
glass ; videlicet,  for  some  parts  of  porcelain  you  may  use  one  half 
unaker  and  the  other  half  glass,  and  so  in  different  proportions, 
till  you  come  to  four  unaker  and  one  glass.” 

The  early  porcelain  of  Bow  would  appear  from  the  above  speci- 
fications to  be  a glassy  porcelain  somewhat  similar  to  that  pro- 
duced in  the  earlier  years  of  the  Chelsea  works,  but  that  can 
hardly  be  called  a true  frit  porcelain  which  contains  a varying  pro- 
portion of  the  unaker  or  clay.  Pieces  are  known,  however,  dating 
back  to  about  1750,  which  possess  many  of  the  characteristics  of 
the  early  Chelsea  frit  paste. 


22 


Bow  porcelain  was  seldom  marked,  but  occasionally  pieces  are 
found  bearing  the  anchor  and  sword  mark,  and  the  monogram  of 
Thomas  Frye,  who  retired  from  the  works  in  1759. 

Mr.  William  Burton,  author  of  History  and  Description  of  English 
Porcelain , has  kindly  examined  for  me  the  earlier  pieces  of  Bow  por- 
celain in  the  British  Museum,  and  he  has  discovered  that  none  of 
them  reveals  the  presence  of  translucent  spots  which  are  so  distinct 
in  the  earlier  Chelsea  productions. 

The  paste  of  the  early  Bow  pieces  is  coarser  than  that  of  Chelsea, 
has  a soft,  rich  appearance,  and  the  thickly  applied  glaze  possesses 
a yellowish  or  creamy  white  tint;  the  majority  of  pieces  we  have 
examined  are  poorly  potted,  and  the  under  sides  are  often  rough  and 
badly  finished. 

Characteristics : A glassy  glaze  of  creamy  white  tint,  thickly 
applied.  Absence  of  “grease  spots  ” in  the  paste.  Poor  potting 
and  indifferent  finish. 

CHELSEA. 

The  earliest  true  frit  paste  porcelain  of  English  manufacture  was 
probably  produced  at  Chelsea,  and  several  examples  of  the  “ goat 
and  bee  ” pattern  bearing  the  date  of  1745  are  known.  These  pieces 
were  for  many  years  attributed  by  collectors  to  the  Bow  factory, 
but  recently  several  have  come  to  light  which  in  addition  to  the 
triangle  mark  have  the  name  “ Chelsea  ” scratched  in  the  paste. 
It  would  therefore  appear  that  porcelain  of  fine  quality  was  pro- 
duced here  in  the  year  above  mentioned,  and  it  is  highly  probable 
that  the  factory  had  then  been  in  existence  for  several  years.  Mr. 
M.  L.  Solon/  in  his  Brief  History  of  Old  English  Porcelain , states  that 
Charles  Gouyn  was  the  first  head  of  the  Chelsea  concern.  In  1749 
Nicholas  Sprimont  became  director  of  the  works. 

The  porcelain  produced  at  Chelsea  from  this  time  until  about 
1760  was  almost  identical  in  body  and  glaze  with  that  of  St.  Cloud, 
and  some  authorities  claim  that  the  Chelsea  ware  of  that  period 
was  made  by  French  workmen.  Be  this  as  it  may,  the  body  of  the 
early  Chelsea  factory  shows  the  same  peculiarity  as  that  of  the  old 
French  glassy  porcelain,  and  exhibits  in  a marked  degree  the 
“ mooning  ” or  presence  of  small  translucent  spots,  which  are  more 
or  less  characteristic  of  all  frit  paste.  Attention  to  this  phenome- 
non in  Chelsea  porcelain  was  first  drawn  by  Dr.  W.  H.  Diamond. 
At  a later  date  this  same  peculiarity  was  observed  in  the  old  French 
porcelains,  and  the  writer  has  found  it  in  the  earlier  porcelain  of 


30..  Frit  Paste  “Goat  and  Bee”  Jug  (4% inches  in  height). 
Polychrome  Decoration. 

Chelsea,  England,  about  1745. 

Museum  No.  ’05-230. 


31.  Frit  Paste  Vase  (12  inches  in  height). 
Decorated  in  Colors,  Chinese  Style. 
Chelsea.  England,  about  1760. 

Pell  Collection.  Metropolitan  Museum,  New  York. 


23 


Worcester.  Mr.  William  Burton,  in  his  History  and  Description  of 
English  Porcelain  (page  38),  states  that  “ It  has  been  suggested  that 
these  are  due  to  irregular  and  excessive  aggregation  of  the  vitreous 
frit  which  formed  such  a large  proportion  of  the  paste.  This  is 
undoubtedly  true,  hut  the  reason  for  their  existence  is  that  the 
Chelsea  body  was  extremely  liable  to  go  out  of  shape,  and,  in  en- 
deavoring to  correct  this  fault,  the  Chelsea  potters  hit  on  the  plan 
of  keeping  some  of  the  frit  fairly  coarse,  instead  of  grinding  it  all 
to  an  impalpable  powder — a most  workmanlike  method  of  deal- 
ing with  such  a difficult  problem  as  the  firing  of  a glassy  por- 
celain.” 

As  previously  mentioned,  the  well-known  “ goat  and  bee  ” 
creamer,  which  for  a long  time  was  supposed  to  have  emanated 
from  the  Bow  works,  was  among  the  earliest  known  designs  from 
the  Chelsea  factory.  In  the  Museum  collection  is  a fine  example 
of  this  pattern,  decorated  in  enamel  colors,  marked  on  the  base 
with  an  incised  triangle,  which  is  now  known  to  have  been  used 
at  Chelsea  (No.  30).  A similar  example  in  the  British  Museum 
bears  this  same  mark,  together  with  the  name  Chelsea  and  the 
date  1745. 

During  this  first  period,  but  at  a somewhat  later  date,  Chinese 
and  Japanese  decorations  were  imitated.  The  Kakiyemon  style 
(see  Chantilly)  was  practiced  by  the  Chelsea  factory  to  a consider- 
able extent,  and  at  first  gold  was  rarely,  if  ever,  used  in  the  deco- 
ration. A peculiar  shade  of  blue,  known  as  gros-bleu , or  mazarine 
blue,  was  introduced  about  1756.  Mr.  Burton  describes  this  blue 
color  as  “ not  only  of  beautiful  tone,  being  blue  and  not  black  in 
the  deepest  parts,  and  of  a fine  sapphire  tint  in  the  lighter  parts, 
but  as  it  was  obtained  by  painting  the  mineral  pigment  on  the  bis- 
cuit ware  and  then  covering  it  with  glaze,  the  color  is  alwaj^s  agree- 
afoly  broken  and  uneven,  and  possesses  in  consequence  a quality 
which  the  more  technically  perfect  mazarine  blue  grounds  of  later 
factories  sadly  lack.” 

A beautiful  vase,  of  hexagonal  form,  in  the  Rev.  Alfred  Duane 
Pell  collection  of  the  Metropolitan  Museum,  New  York,  is  painted 
in  colors,  in  the  Chinese  style  (No.  31).  The  fong-hoang,  or  Chi- 
nese phoenix,  figures  among  the  subjects  depicted.  The  anchor 
mark  in  red  is  penciled  on  the  inner  rim  of  the  orifice,  beneath  the 
lid  of  the  vase.  A companion  piece  is  owned  by  Mr.  Pell. 

Towards  1760  the  frit  body  was  gradually  replaced  by  a new 


24 


paste,  known  as  a bone  body,  which  was  more  manageable,  and 
could  therefore  be  produced  at  less  expense.  In  1770  the  records 
of  the  factory  show  that  ten  bags  of  bone  ash  from  London  cost 
three  shillings.  Prof.  A.  H.  Church  states  that  ninety  per  cent,  of 
the  pieces  of  Chelsea  porcelain  now  known  are  composed  of  the 
later  body,  and  consequently  only  ten  per  cent,  of  existing  pieces 
are  of  the  earlier  frit  body. 

During  the  first  period,  while  the  glassy  porcelain  was  being 
manufactured,  toys,  ornaments,  scent-bottles,  figures  and  groups 
were  produced  and  continued  to  be  made  until  the  close  of  the  fac- 
tory. There  is  a very  interesting  group  of  these  trinkets  in  the 
Museum  collection  (see  Nos.  34,  35,  and  36),  the  first  of  which  be- 
longs to  the  earlier  period,  but  as  it  is  often  impossible  to  distin- 
guish those  of  the  first  from  those  of  the  later  period,  because  the 
white  body  is  almost  entirely  covered  with  color,  the  exact  date  of 
the  two  other  pieces  is  uncertain.  In  the  weekly  statements  of 
u Work  Don  at  Chelsea  by  Barton,  Boyer,  &c.,”  in  1770,  published 
by  Jewitt  in  his  Ceramic  Art  in  Great  Britain  (Yol.  1,  p.  182),  the 
item  “ Pidgeon  House  Perfume  Pots  ” occurs  more  than  once  (see 
No.  36).  These  dainty  little  scent-bottles  frequently  bear  a French 
inscription,  and  the  hollowed  out  bases  are  usually  covered  with 
paintings  of  flowers  and  gold  work.  Candlesticks,  candelabra,  and 
clocks,  surrounded  with  metal  branches,  were  set  with  small  por- 
celain figures  and  flowers  colored  after  nature. 

In  1770  the  works  were  transferred  to  William  Duesbury,  mana- 
ger of  the  Derby  works. 

The  principal  factory  mark  used  at  Chelsea  was  an  anchor,  at 
first  raised  in  the  paste,  and  later  traced  in  red,  purple,  brown,  or 
gold.  On  some  of  the  earlier  pieces  is  found  a triangle  incised  in 
the  paste.  The  mark  is  frequently  found  on  the  backs  of  figures, 
or  in  a fold  of  the  drapery. 

Characteristics:  Chelsea  frit  paste  porcelain  is  readily  distin- 
guished by  the  mellow,  waxy  quality  of  the  body,  and  its  heavy, 
unctuous  glaze.  The  “ mooning,”  or  presence  of  translucent 
“ grease  spots,”  is  usually  very  pronounced.  The  earlier  pieces  are 
devoid  of  gilding,  while  the  polychrome  decorations,  sparingly  ap- 
plied, are  painted  for  the  greater  part  in  enamel  colors.  On  the 
bases  of  the  larger  groups  and  figures  are  three  or  four  smudges, 
known  as  “ thumb  marks.”  The  figures  are  sharp  and  have  been 
carefully  retouched,  while  the  coloring  has  been  applied  in  the 


32.  Soft  Paste  Cup  And  Saucer. 
Painted  Decoration  in  Blue. 

Worcester,  England,  about  1760. 

33.  Soft  Paste  Cup  and  Saucer. 
Painted  Decoration  in  Rose. 

Chelsea-Derby,  about  1770. 
Museum  Nos.  ’91-38,  '05-222. 


34,  35,  36.  Soft  Paste  Scent  Bottles  (3)4  inches  in  height). 
Decorated  in  Colors. 

Chelsea,  England,  about  1760. 

Bloomfield  Moore  Collection. 

Museum  Nos.  '82-1070,  1135,  ’99-1009. 


25 


most  painstaking  manner.  This  carefulness  of  execution  is  par- 
ticularly apparent  in  the  faces  of  statuettes,  where  the  flesh  tints 
are  stippled  and  delicately  shaded  into  the  white. 

DERBY. 

At  Derby,  porcelain  was  first  produced  about  the  year  1756  under 
the  management  of  William  Duesbury.  It  seems  certain  that  arti- 
ficial soft  paste  porcelain,  similar  to  that  of  Chelsea  and  Bow,  was 
produced  here  in  the  early  years  of  the  factory,  but  the  pieces 
that  have  been  recognized  as  belonging  to  this  period  are  so  en- 
tirely covered  with  opaque  colors  that  the  exact  character  of 
the  ware  cannot  be  determined.  At  a later  date,  soapstone  was 
introduced,  and  about  1770  bone  ash  appears  to  have  been  added 
to  the  body. 

Duesbury  continued  to  operate  the  Chelsea  works,  in  connec- 
tion with  the  Derby  factory,  from  about  1770  to  1784,  when  the 
buildings  of  the  former  were  torn  down  and  Chelsea  china  ceased 
to  be  made.  This  was  known  as  the  Derby-Chelsea  or  Chelsea- 
Derby  period. 

After  Duesbury  took  over  the  Chelsea  works  in  1770,  the  manu- 
facture was  continued  both  at  Chelsea  and  Derby,  and  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  distinguish  the  products  of  the  two  factories,  since  many 
of  the  forms  and  decorations  were  produced  at  both  places.  The 
mark  of  this  period  consisted  of  the  Derby  D,  combined  with  the 
Chelsea  anchor,  usually  penciled  in  gold.  A saucer  in  the  Museum 
collection,  so  marked,  is  decorated  with  sprays  of  flowers  in  green 
enamel  and  black  (No.  38).  A cup  and  saucer,  with  similar 
mark,  are  painted  with  cupids  in  deep  rose  color.  The  paste 
strongly  resembles  the  early  frit  paste  of  Chelsea,  and  exhibits,  to 
a marked  degree,  the  phenomenon  of  “mooning,”  myriads  of 
transparent  “ pin  points  ” being  distinctly  visible  when  the  ware 
is  viewed  through  a strong  artificial  light  (see  No.  33).  About  1770 
the  paste  was  changed  by  the  introduction  of  bone  in  the  compo- 
sition, and  the  later  productions  gradually  took  on  the  character  of 
natural  soft  paste  porcelain. 

Several  Chelsea-Derby  figures  may  be  seen  in  the  Boston  Mu- 
seum of  Fine  Arts. 

LONGTON  HALL. 

Frit  paste  porcelain  was  produced  here  by  William  Littler  from 
about  1752  to  1758.  The  body  of  the  ware  varied  considerably, 


26 


being  sometimes  of  a true  frit  composition,  and  in  other  cases 
being  quite  opaque.  The  glaze  is  generally  lighter  in  tint  than 
the  glazes  of  the  early  porcelains  of  Chelsea  and  Bow.  Much  of 
the  ware  attributed  to  this  factory  bears  a close  resemblance  to  the 
porcelain  of  Chelsea.  As  a rule,  the  pieces  are  clumsy  and  poorly 
potted,  but  underglaze  blue  color  was  employed  extensively  as  a 
ground  work  in  decoration,  somewhat  similar  to  that  of  the  Chelsea 
works.  Gold  was  sparingly  used,  sometimes  presenting  the  appear- 
ance of  gold  leaf  heavily  applied. 

WORCESTER. 

Shortly  after  the  establishment  of  the  Worcester  factory,  in 
1751,  a frit  porcelain  body  was  invented  by  Dr.  John  Wall,  the 
founder,  which  was  extensively  produced  until  som  etime  between 
1760  and  1770,  when  steatite  was  introduced.  This  ware  he 
named  “Tonquin  porcelain.”  It  is  somewhat  similar  to  the  frit 
body  used  at  Chelsea  and  Sevres,  of  a translucent,  waxy  quality, 
which  may  be  best  seen  in  the  base  rims  of  tea  cups.  At  first 
the  decorations  were  in  blue,  in  imitation  of  Chinese  porcelain, 
and,  later,  the  ware  wras  painted  in  enamel  colors,  in  the  Oriental 
style.  The  powdered  blue  and  salmon  scale  blue  ground  of  the 
square  mark  period  are  among  the  best  achievements  of  the  Wor- 
cester decorators. 

A marked  characteristic  of  the  ware  of  the  first  period  is  the 
presence  of  tiny  translucent  spots  in  the  paste,  which  are  not  so 
numerous  nor  so  large  as  those  found  in  the  Chelsea  frit  paste 
porcelain,  or  in  the  old  French  pate  tendre.  The  ware  is  usually 
thin  and  evenly  turned,  and  the  glaze  is  so  perfect  in  its  composition 
that  crazed  pieces  are  seldom  found.  A cup  and  saucer,  here 
shown,  bearing  the  square  mark,  imitating  Chinese  characters,  be- 
longs to  this  period.  They  are  decorated  with  floral  panels  in 
gros  bleu , and  flowers  in  red,  green,  and  gold  (No.  40).  Another 
cup  and  saucer,  of  a somewhat  later  date,  are  embellished  with 
enamel  colors  and  gold  and  underglaze  blue  bands  (No.  39). 

In  the  collection  of  the  Wadsworth  Athenseum  of  Hartford,  Ct., 
is  a tall  vase  of  fritted  porcelain,  with  paintings  in  Chinese  style 
in  dark  blue  (No.  37),  belonging  to  the  earliest  period. 

New  body  compositions  were  invented  at  Worcester  at  various 
times,  and  the  changes  in  the  paste,  produced  by  the  introduction 
of  soapstone,  bone  dust,  and  china  clays,  were  so  gradual  that  it 


37.  Frit  Paste  Vase  (9  inches  in  height). 
Decorated  in  Blue,  Chinese  Style. 
Worcester,  England,  about  1755. 
Wadsworth  Anthemenm.  Hertford,  Ct. 


38.  Soft  Paste  Saucer. 

Green  Enamel  and  Black. 
Chelsea-Derby,  about  1770. 

39.  Soft  Paste  Cup  and  Saucer. 
Enamel  Colors  and  Gold,  and  Blue  Bands. 
Worcester,  England,  about  1770. 
Museum  Nos.  ’04-586,  80. 


27 


is  impossible  to  decide  just  when  the  manufacture  of  one  ended 
and  the  next  one  began.  At  least  three  distinct  bodies  were  used, 
first  the  frit,  second  the  soapstone,  and  finally  the  bone  body,  when 
bone  ashes  and  Cornish  clays  were  introduced  and  the  ware  took 
on  the  character  of  the  natural  soft  past  porcelain  of  the  other 
English  factories.  The  production  of  the  glassy  porcelain  con- 
tinued, however,  for  some  time  after  the  steatite  body  was  intro- 
duced, and  the  manufacture  of  the  latter  did  not  cease  until  some 
years  after  the  bone  china  had  appeared.  Each  of  these  varieties 
of  ware  possesses  marked  features  by  which  it  may  be  readily  rec- 
ognized. The  later  productions  of  the  Worcester  factory  and  the 
other  English  establishments  will  be  treated  in  the  Art  Primer  on 
Natural  Soft  Paste  Porcelain. 

The  principal  marks  employed  at  Worcester,  on  frit  paste  por- 
celain, are  a cursive  W,  the  crossed  swords,  the  Chinese  square 
mark,  already  mentioned  (see  Nos.  32  and  40),  and  the  crescent 
taken  from  one  of  the  quarterings  in  the  Warmstry  arms,*  either 
outlined  in  blue  or  painted  in  solid  color.  Much  of  the  ware,  how- 
ever, is  unmarked. 

Characteristics:  Worcester  porcelain  may  be  recognized  by  the 
hardness  of  the  glaze,  produced  by  the  introduction  of  a certain 
percentage  of  ground  Oriental  china.  It  is  usually  of  a more 
greenish  tint  than  that  of  Chelsea  or  Bow. 

CAUGHLEY. 

While  some  writers  claim  that  a pottery  was  established  at  this 
place  in  Shropshire  (Salop)  as  early  as  1751,  we  have  no  evidence 
that  porcelain  was  made  here  before  about  1772,  when  Thomas 
Turner  became  connected  with  the  works.  The  ware  produced 
at  first  was  somewhat  similar  to  that  of  the  Worcester  factory  of 
the  same  period,  when  the  frit  paste  was  being  superseded  b}^  the 
soapstone  body.  The  decorations  were  usually  printed  in  blue 
beneath  the  glaze,  in  the  Worcester  style.  A cup  and  saucer  in 
the  Museum  collection  (No.  42)  is  thus  decorated  in  the  Chinese 
taste  and  reheightened  with  gold.  These  pieces  are  marked  in 
blue  beneath  the  glaze,  in  simulation  of  a Chinese  character,  rep- 
resenting the  figure  “ 1 ” (see  chapter  on  Marks).  Disguised  nu- 


* The  first  operations  were  commenced  in  an  old  mansion  formerly  occupied 
by  the  Warmstry  family. 


28 


merals,  from  1 to  8,  with  Chinese-like  flourishes,  were  used  to  a 
considerable  extent.  Present  authorities  assign  them  to  Caughley. 

Additional  marks  of  this  factory  are  a crescent  in  blue,  the 
letter  C,  for  “ Caughley,”  a painted  or  printed  “S,”  probably  the 
initial  letter  of  “ Salopian,”  and  the  latter  word  impressed  in  the 
paste.  An  open  crescent  in  blue,  with  one  horn  longer  than  the 
other,  was  employed  occasionally  at  Caughley.  A cup  in  the  Mu- 
seum collection  with  blue  printed  design  and  dark  blue  marginal 
band  with  superimposed  gilding  (see  No.  41)  is  so  marked. 

The  majority  of  pieces  of  early  Caughley  porcelain  we  have 
examined  are  of  a pronounced  grayish  or  dirty  white  color,  of  a 
putty-like  opacity,  quite  different  in  tone  from  the  greenish  tint 
of  the  Worcester  frit  porcelain.  This  peculiarity  marks  all  of 
the  pieces  referred  to  above.  The  later  ware,  however,  more 
closely  resembles  in  appearance  the  Worcester  porcelain  of  the 
soapstone  variety.  A spirally  fluted  cup  and  saucer  in  the  Mu- 
seum collection,  painted  in  blue  and  gold,  which  might  readily 
be  taken  for  Worcester,  is  marked  with  the  letter  “S”  in  under- 
glaze blue. 

THE  UNITED  STATES. 

The  fritted  body  was  never  produced  by  American  potters,  for 
the  reason  that  when  porcelain  was  first  made  in  this  country,  at 
the  commencement  of  the  nineteenth  century,  the  manufacture  of 
artificial  soft  paste  had  long  been  abandoned  in  Europe.  It  is 
true  that  the  projectors,  Gousse  Bonnin  and  George  Anthony 
Morris,  of  the  first  American  china  factory,  at  Southwark,  Phila- 
delphia, advertised  in  the  year  1769  that  “ they  have  proved  to  a 
certainty  that  the  clays  of  America  are  productive  of  as  good 
Porcelain  as  any  heretofore  manufactured  at  the  famous  factory 
in  Bow,  near  London,  and  imported  into  the  colonies  and  planta’ 
tions,  which  they  will  engage  to  sell  upon  very  reasonable  terms ; 
and  as  they  purpose  going  largely  into  this  manufacture  as  soon 
as  the  works  are  completed,  they  request  those  persons  who  choose 
to  favor  them  with  commands,  to  be  as  early  as  possible,  laying  it 
down  as  a fixed  principle  to  take  all  orders  in  rotation,  and  exe- 
cute the  earliest  first.”  At  that  date  the  porcelain  made  at  Bow 
contained  bone  and  china  clays,  so  that  if  the  American  manufac- 
turers had  succeeded  in  imitating  the  Bow  ware,  the  new  manu- 
facture would  have  been  a natural  soft  paste  porcelain  and  not  a 
fritted  body.  At  a subsequent  date  they  advertised  for  bones ; but 


40.  Frit  Paste  Cup  and  Saucer. 
Polychrome  Decoration,  Chinese  Style. 
Worcester,  England,  about  1760. 
Museum  No.  ’05-224. 


41,  42.  Soft  Paste  Cups  and  Saucer. 
Blue  Printed  Decorations  and  Gold. 
Caughley,  England,  about  1772. 
Museum  Nos.  ’03-19,  ’04-5°8. 


29 


the  attempt  appears  to  have  been  unsuccessful,  and  there  is  no  evi- 
dence that  porcelain  was  ever  produced  there.  The  only  fully 
authenticated  piece  of  china  from  these  works  is  exhibited  in  the 
Museum  collection  of  American  pottery.  It  is  a small  openwork 
fruit  dish,  of  cream  colored  ware,  decorated  in  blue  beneath  the 
glaze.  This  factory  was  permanently  closed  in  1774.  A full  ac- 
count of  this  early  American  enterprise  will  be  found  in  the 
author’s  work  on  the  Pottery  and  Porcelain  of  the  United  States. 


FOLD< 

NOr 

DIGITI 


INDEX. 


Antoni  bon,  Pasqnale,  20 
Arras,  8,  17 
Artificial  Soft  Paste,  5 

Bachelier,  9 

Barbeau  decor,  12 

Barre,  decorator,  14 

Baudouin,  decorator,  14 

Bettignies,  13,  17 

Bleu  de  roi,  15 

Bleu  de  Sevres,  12 

Bone  body,  24,  25,  27 

Bonnin,  Gousse,  28 

Boston  Museum  of  Fine  Arts,  19,  25 

Bourg-la-Peine,  17 

Boussemaert,  Francois,  7 

Bow,  21,  22,  26,  28 

Bow  paste,  composition  of,  21,  23 

British  Museum,  22,  23 

Brongniart,  12 

Buen  Betiro,  20 

Burnishing  au  clou,  15 

Burton,  William,  22,  23 

Capo-di-Monte,  19,  20 
Catrice,  decorator,  14 
Caughley,  27,  28 
Chanou,  Sophie,  13 
Chantilly,  7 
Charles  III. , 20 
Chavagnac,  Count  de,  10 
Chelsea,  21-26 
Chelsea  figures,  24 
Chelsea-Derby,  25 
Chicanneau,  6 
Chinese  porcelain,  26 
Chulot,  decorator,  15 
Church,  Prof.  A.  H.,  24 
Cirou,  7 

Com  flower  decoration,  12 
Cotteau,  enameler,  12 
Cozzi,  Geminiano,  19 

Deleneur,  17 
Derby,  24,  25 
Derby-Chelsea,  25 
Diamond,  Dr.  W.  H.,  22 
Doat,  Taxile,  10 
Doccia,  19,  20 


“Dontil”  edge,  9 
Dorez,  7 

du  Barry,  Comtesse,  11,  14 
Duesbury,  William,  24,  25 
Duplessis,  9 

Fluted  cups,  6 
Fond  rose,  11 

France,  Frit  Porcelain  of,  6 

French  porcelain,  5 

Frit  porcelain,  5 

Frit  porcelain  of  England,  21 

Frit  porcelain  of  Continental  Coun- 

+ y»i  DC  I Q 

Frye,  Thomas,  21,  22 

Gamier,  10,  11 
Gilding,  9,  11,  13,  23,  24,  26 
Gilding  prohibited,  11 
Ginori,  Marquis,  19 
Glazes,  Tinted,  18 
Gouyn,  Charles,  22 
Grand  jean,  Mile  de,  11 
Grease  spots,  5,  8,  17,  18,  24 

Hard  paste,  10-13 

Haviland,  18 

Hellot,  Jean,  9,  11,  12 

Herend,  20 

Heylin,  Edward,  21 

Ploles  for  suspension  in  kiln,  9 

Imari  ware,  7 
Italy,  19 

Jacques,  8,  16,  17 
Jeweled  porcelain,  12,  15,  17 
Jewitt,  Llewellynn,  21 
Jullien,  8,  16,  17 

Kakiyemon  style,  7,  8,  23 

La  Fontaine’s  fables,  8 

Le  Bel,  jeune,  decorator,  14 

Le  Nove,  20 

Lille,  7 

Limoges,  18 

Littler,  William,  25 

Longton  Hall,  25 


32 


Louis  XIV.,  7 
Louis  XV.,  9,  11,  18 
Louis  XVI.,  11,  18 
Louvre,  10,  14,  18 

Maiolica,  19 
Marks,  Sevres,  14 
Marks,  Vincennes,  9 
Meissen,  20 
Mennecy,  8,  9,  17 
Metropolitan  Museum,  23 
“ Mooning,”  11,  24,  25 
Morris,  George  Anthony,  28 
Musee  de  Sevres,  10,  12,  14 
Musee  du  Louvre,  10,  14,  18 

Napoleon  III.,  13 
National  Museum,  Washington,  9 
Naudot,  Camille,  18 
Nove,  20 

Orleans,  16 

Paris,  18 

Pell,  Rev.  A.  Duane,  17,  23 
Penthievre,  Duke  of,  16 
Persian  pottery,  18 
Philippe,  Louis,  13 
Pierced  porcelain,  18 
“Pin  Points,”  5,  17,  25 
Pompadour,  Marquise  de,  11 
Porcelaine  de  France,  9 
Porcelaine  Francaise,  5 
Poterat,  Louis,  6 
Princeton  University,  21 

Rose-Pompadour,  11,  13,  15 
Rouen,  6 

Saint-Amand-les-Eaux,  17 
St.  Cloud,  6,  17,  22 
Sceaux,  16 


Sevres,  10-15,  26 
blue,  16 
date  marks,  9 
decorators’  marks,  14 
figures,  14 

forgeries,  12-15,  17,  18 
hard  paste,  10,  11,  13 
Museum,  10,  12,  14 
pate  tendre,  composition  of,  10 
Snuff  boxes,  8 
Soapstone  body,  27 
Solon,  M.  L.,  22 

Southwark,  Philadelphia,  Works,  28 
Spain,  20 

Sprimont,  Nicholas,  22 
Steatite  body,  27 
Stratford-le-Bow,  21 

Taillandier,  decorator,  10 
“Thumb  marks,”  24 
Tin  glaze,  7 

“Tonquin”  porcelain,  26 
Tournay,  8,  15 
‘ 1 Trembleuse,  ’ ’ 7 
Trou,  Henry,  7 
Trumbull- Prime  collection,  21 
Turner,  Thomas,  27 

United  States,  28,  29 

Venice,  19 
Vezzi  Brothers,  19 
“Vieux  Sevres,”  13 
Villeroy,  Duke  of,  8,  9 
Vincennes,  9,  10,  15 

Wadsworth  Athenaeum,  26 
Wall,  Dr.  John,  26 
Warmstry,  27 
Washington,  George,  9 
Watteau  style,  10 
Wedgwood,  20 
Worcester,  18,  19,  23,  26,  27 


\ 


367  . . Artificial  Soft  Paste  Porcelain.  France,  Italy,  Spain  and  Eng- 
land. With  42  Illustrations  and  Marks.  $4.50 


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